The process of importing salt, initiated following a recommendation from the Ministry of Industries, has been temporarily suspended, bringing relief to salt farmers. Md Sarwar Hossain, the head of the Salt Cell of the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), confirmed the information.
He said that after a meeting held at the Ministry of Industries in September last year, the issue of importing up to 100,000 metric tonnes of salt was considered through the Ministry of Commerce. Accordingly, the Office of the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports (CCI&E) issued a circular inviting applications from interested importers.
Following scrutiny, approved firms were instructed to open letters of credit (LCs) within a specified deadline, which expired on January 11 this year. However, as LCs were opened for only 20,000 to 25,000 metric tonnes within the timeframe, the government decided not to extend the deadline.
On Wednesday, a meeting was held in Cox’s Bazar between the adviser to the Ministry of Industries, Adilur Rahman Khan, and stakeholders from the salt industry. After the meeting, the industries adviser phoned the commerce adviser and instructed that all salt import processes—whether LCs had been opened or not—be kept suspended for now.
Md Sarwar Hossain said, ‘No one will be able to import salt now. The import process will remain suspended until further discussions are held with the commerce adviser. This decision has been announced publicly.’ The BSCIC chairman and representatives of the Cox’s Bazar salt industry attended the meeting, he added.
Sources said that the Ministry of Industries had sent a list of 247 companies to the Ministry of Commerce with the aim of importing 100,000 tonnes of salt. After verification, 231 companies were granted permission to import.
Meanwhile, salt farmers launched protests demanding the cancellation of the import decision.
On Wednesday, they formed a human chain in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka.
Prominent thinker Dr Salimullah Khan, addressing the programme, called for the suspension of the salt import decision.
The news of the suspension has been met with relief and jubilation among salt farmers in Cox’s Bazar.
They have urged the authorities to issue a formal government notification at the earliest to make the decision official.
By Abdu Rashid Manik
File Photo
